Song of Fire and Air
by SoBadAtBeingGood
Summary: Modern AU. There are new kids in Katara and Sokka's town: Zuko and Aang Kayobi. As Katara and Sokka become closer friends with the unusual brothers, they slowly start to learn the dark secrets that plague the Kayobi household. Warnings: Child abuse.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey all, got a new story for you!**

**Just to make a few points clear, this isn't Zukaang in terms of sexual relationship. This is a story exploring their relationship as literal brothers. I've actually always liked the idea of them as brothers. I think Zuko would have made a great brother given a non-maniacal sibling. Also, this takes place in an era with technology equivenlent to our own, but there is still bending. Also, there is no such thing as the Avatar. Other differences should make themselves very clear as the story goes on.**

**I understand that this could possible not be to everyone's tastes. I ask that you read the whole chapter before deciding (since the first half of this chapter is kinda slow/boring). However, if it turns out that there really isn't any interest, I probably won't continue it. I _do_ have the entire story line written out, but I am very busy with classes and don't really want to put in a lot of effort into a story no one is interested in.**

**If, however, there _is_ interest, I must warn you that updates will be relatively slow. My classes this semester take up a lot of time and they must be my priority. I do want to ensure you, though, that I will NOT abandon the story if I do decide to continue it.**

**So, without further ado, enjoy chapter 1!**

* * *

It was the first day of a new school year, and it was Katara's personal favorite time of the year. That may be hard for most people to believe (her brother insisted she was crazy), but during that first week, it always felt like a fresh start. There aren't any grades or assignments yet, nothing for the teachers for them to judge the students by beyond what the students put forward themselves. It always made Katara feel like she was in control.

It was going like most first days. They were reviewing their syllabi, doing icebreakers, and giving introductions. It was actually quite boring, especially since she had grown up with most everyone since elementary school. That is, until her political science class.

Her teacher had separated them into groups, and there was actually an older boy in her group that she didn't recognize. He had pale skin, with black hair that fell messily around his face. With bright golden eyes, he was actually quite good looking. Of course, his looks were not nearly as interesting to Katara as the fact that he was a brand new person. She honestly couldn't remember the last time someone new entered her class.

"... and I'm planning on applying to Ba Sing Se University to study anthropology," Amu, the girl sitting to Katara's left, finished off tiredly. She turned to Katara with a bored stare. "Your turn."

Katara smiled and sat up. "I'm Katara Mizuth. I'm fifteen years old, and I live with my brother, grandmother, and father. My mother died when I was a child, and my father is a Merchant Marine." Usually she wouldn't say so much since almost everyone knew everything about each other, but this was a good excuse for her to let the new guy learn more about her. "My favorite subject is history, and I'm also a waterbender." She turned to him, eager (perhaps a little _too_ eager) to learn more about him.

He stared at Katara for a few moments before speaking. "I'm sorry to hear about your mother."

Katara waved the apology off. "I was a child. It was years ago. Yeah, it sucks, but it doesn't really affect me in my day to day life."

He nodded in response. "My mother died when I was four."

Katara's eyes widened. "Oh, I'm so sorry."

He shrugged. "Like you said. It was years ago." He turned to address their group as a whole. "My name is Zuko Kayobi. I'm seventeen years old and a firebender. I have a younger brother, and we live with my father."

"What does your father do?" Katara inquired.

"Business management."

Katara wanted to converse more with him, but their teacher had asked for their attention again as he proceeded to over the syllabus. No big deal. They all had lunch after this, and she could try talking more with Zuko then.

* * *

"You're… thirteen?" Sokka repeated incredulously.

Aang, a younger boy with floppy brown hair and pale skin, nodded. "Yup."

Sokka looked around the room, seeing no one younger than sixteen. He turned back to Aang, the look of incredulity still plastered on his face. "And you're in _calculus_?"

Aang smiled shyly. "Yeah… I really like math."

"That's… seriously impressive. Seriously."

Aang just shrugged, having nothing else to say.

Intrigued by this kid, Sokka continued the conversation. "So… you said just moved into town?"

Aang nodded, tapping his fingers on the table in a repetitive fashion. "Yeah… about a month ago."

"Where you from?"

"Republic City."

"Republic City?" Sokka cringed. "Rough town. Don't the Agni Kais practically run it?"

Aang pondered the question for a moment, his body twitching with seemingly unspent energy. "I guess it depends which part of the city you live."

"Did you live in the bad part of the city? Is that why your family moved all the way out here in the middle of nowhere?"

Aang shook his head slowly. "No… My dad's job took us here."

"Oh? What does he do?"

"Business management."

"What kind?"

Aang opened his mouth and then quickly shut it again. He looked down at his folded hands and muttered, "I-I'm not sure…"

Sokka hit Aang's shoulder playfully. "Hey, don't worry about it, kid. I didn't really understand what my dad did when I was your age either. My dad's a merchant, by the way."

Aang nodded, but kept his gaze downcast.

Sparing another quick glance around the room, Sokka realized that being surrounded by all these older kids must be really intimidating for a kid like Aang. That might also explain why he seemed so jittery, so Sokka wrapped an arm around Aang's shoulders and said, "I'm going to go have lunch with my sister. Care to join?"

Aang looked uncertain, shrugging off Sokka's arm. "I was going to have lunch with my brother…"

"You've got a brother? Cool! He can eat with us, too." He stood and started leading Aang towards the cafeteria.

"Um, my brother's not really the 'social' type…"

"He doesn't have to _socialize_. He can just sit there and eat. You seem like a cool kid, and I want to get to know you better," Sokka said with finality.

Aang frowned. "You're a very strange person."

"Yeah, that's what my sister tells me. Though not nearly as nicely."

When they arrived at the cafeteria, they bought their food, and Sokka pointed to a table tucked in the far corner. "We sit at that table over there. You can come join us once you find your brother."

Aang squinted and leaned forward a little. "I think your sister already found him."

Sokka looked back at the table and saw that his sister was, in fact, with another boy that Sokka didn't recognize. "That's your brother? Huh. What're the chances?"

Aang's brother was standing next to the table, looking down at his seated sister. When he noticed Sokka and Aang approaching, he turned to face them with a hint of surprise in his expression. "Aang? I just about to come find you."

"Well... I'm here." Aang put his food tray down and sat across from Katara.

"This is your brother?" Katara asked Aang's brother. She looked up at Sokka. "How did you two meet?"

"He's in my calculus class," Sokka said casually, ignoring his sister's look of shock. "Aang, this is my sister, Katara. Katara, this is Aang."

Aang smiled. "Nice to meet you."

Katara smiled back. "Nice to meet you, too."

Sokka walked up to Aang's brother and offered his hand. "I'm Sokka."

The other boy accepted the hand and gave it a firm shake. "Zuko."

"So... calculus…" Katara said as Sokka and Zuko took their seats. "How old are you?"

"Thirteen," Aang said between mouthfuls.

"That's… _really_ impressive."

Aang paused in his eating. "You guys really _are_ siblings."

Katara frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Yeah... I pretty much had the same reaction…" Sokka said.

"Well, of course!" Katara exclaimed. "You're... like... four years ahead of most other kids your age!"

Aang shrugged. "I like math."

Sokka looked back and forth between the brothers. "You know, I would have never guessed you guys were related. You two don't look anything alike."

"Sokka!" Katara admonished. "Don't be rude!"

"What? They don't!"

Zuko shrugged. "Aang takes after our mother. I…" He paused. "... take after our father."

"Well, your father must be a very handsome man," Katara said pointedly.

Sokka did a doubletake. He couldn't remember the last time he saw Katara flirt. Ever since she broke up with Jet a year ago, she had seemed pretty content to remain single. Sokka had hoped her contentedness would last longer. However, judging from what he just saw, it looks as though his little sister wanted back in the game.

After a moment's pause, Zuko said, "I suppose."

They all chatted for most of the remainder of lunch. Aang slowly got more and more animated as the conversation continued. Sokka discovered that Aang was a huge Pro-Bending fan, and they spent the vast majority of the lunch discussing their favorite teams and who they thought would make the championship this year. Katara, who was familiar with Pro-Bending while not being a die-hard fan, also managed to contribute to the conversation.

Zuko, on the other hand, remained silent for the most part. He occasionally added a fact or two, but nothing real substantial. Aang hadn't been kidding when he said his brother wasn't the social type. The most animated he got was halfway through the meal, when he took out a small bottle and swallowed a couple pills. Katara asked what they were for, and Zuko just muttered that he had a headache.

When the automated bell rang over the PA system, indicating the end of lunch, they all threw out their garbage and began to exit when Katara said, "Do you guys want to meet up after school? You can come to our place if you want. My Gran Gran is making her famous Five Flavor Soup."

Aang looked up at Zuko uncertainly, and Zuko shook his head. "No. We should be heading home after class."

"Why?" Sokka asked. "It's not like you have homework or anything."

"We have... family obligations," Aang said in explanation.

"Oh. Well, alright then…" Katara said, clearly disappointed. "We'll see you tomorrow, then!"

Aang smiled and nodded. "Tomorrow!"

The siblings each departed in opposite directions. Once they were far away enough, Katara said, "Isn't nice to have new faces?"

"Yeah," Sokka said unenthusiastically. "You seemed to be _really_ enjoying Zuko's face."

Katara blushed and scowled. "Zuko is handsome, yes, but he's also really _nice_!"

"How can you _possibly_ tell?" Sokka asked. "He barely said eight words."

"He's just a bit shy. He'll open up with time."

Sokka shook his head. "Whatever. He seems like a pretty dull guy to me. Aang must have inherited all the brains."

"Say... You and Aang seemed to get along pretty well. Which is surprising, since you usually look down on all the lower classmen."

"Aang's in my _calculus_ class. I say he's earned a little respect." He looked back in the direction the brothers had disappeared to. "They're an interesting pair, that's for sure. They're nothing like each other. And they seem to be oddly close, considering their age difference."

Katara became a little solemn. "Zuko said their mother died when they were really young."

Sokka's eyes widened slightly. "Oh. I see..." It was suddenly _very_ clear why the Kayobi brothers were so close. He and Katara knew better than most how losing a parent could strengthen the remaining familial bonds. People often commented on how close he and his sister were, usually implying that it was weird or unnatural. No amount of explaining would ever make others understand how much a parent's passing almost _requires_ the rest of the family to pull together and function more as a singular unit.

"Their dad seems like he might be a workaholic," Katara said. "I wonder if he's dealing with the death of his wife the same way Dad did with Mom's death…"

"Mmm," was Sokka's only response.

They went to their separate classes, and Sokka found himself thinking about the new brothers instead of paying any attention to what his teachers or peers had to say. Which - really - wasn't a surprise. They were by far the most interesting people to have graced their town in a _long_ time.

* * *

Zuko and Aang walked side by side, taking a leisurely pace back to their house. Most people probably could have walked from their school to their house in about twenty minutes. At the speed they were going, it would probably be closer to forty.

For about half the journey, they were in a comfortable silence, each of them mulling over their day. Then, Aang broke the silence. "So… how was your day?"

"Fine," Zuko said. "Boring." He paused for a moment. "Yours?"

"Same. Boring. But I liked talking to Sokka and his sister!"

"They were okay. A bit overly friendly…"

"To you, _everyone_ is overly friendly."

Zuko reached into his pocket and pulled out his pill bottle. "I suppose."

Aang looked at Zuko worriedly. "How's your head?"

Zuko sighed. "Same as always, Aang."

They walked for a few more minutes in silence. When they were about five minutes away, Aang sighed. "Do you think he's home?"

"Probably. He said he wanted to take me out on another run after school today."

"Right…"

They turned onto the street they lived on, and, sure enough, they could see their father's car sitting in the driveway.

"Well... at least we get to spend several hours from home for five days of the week... right?"

"Right," Zuko echoed, not sounding nearly as optimistic as his younger brother.

When they lived in Republic City, Ozai homeschooled them. Apparently, the rules in this district were different and required all kids under eighteen to attend public school. It was probably one of the best parts of moving out of the city.

When they entered the house, they found their father sitting at the dining room table, looking over various papers and reports. Aang didn't understand most of it, but he knew Zuko did, since their father spent a great deal of his time training Zuko to be the perfect heir to the family business.

Without looking up, Ozai asked, "How was your day, boys?"

Aang resisted the urge to grab Zuko's arm, digging his nails into his palms to keep the severity of his trembling down.

"Fine," Zuko said for the both of them.

"Learn exciting new things?" Ozai said sardonically.

"It was the first day," Zuko replied. "It was mostly just introductions and review."

Ozai scoffed as he scribbled something down on one of the reports. "And they think they can educate you better than I can. I am your _father_. No one knows my children better than _me_." He put his pen down and finally looked up, eyeing Zuko neutrally and glancing at Aang with the usual expression of disdain. "We need to leave, Zuko. They're expecting us in half and hour, and it's always bad business to be _late_." He looked at Aang. "You. Have dinner ready for us when we return."

"Yes, Father," Aang said respectfully, keeping his eyes downcast.

When Ozai went to his room, Zuko turned to Aang and whispered, "Keep it simple."

Aang nodded. "I know."

Ozai came back out, and he and Zuko both left without another word. Aang didn't move from his spot until he heard the car pull out of the driveway, when he allowed himself to relax slightly. Running up to his room, threw his bag aside, and fell bonelessly on the bed with a long sigh. They probably wouldn't be back for a couple hours, and if Aang made dinner too early, it would be cold by the time they got back.

While he had been (and still was) excited about going to public school, he realized today how draining it was going to be. While at school, he was going to have to act like a completely normal kid in order to avoid suspicion, but still be able to switch back to his more natural cautious state when he came back home. The constant transitions were going to be exhausting, even though he knew he would get used to them eventually.

Turning over onto his stomach, Aang stared out the window as he pondered over what to do for dinner. _Keep it simple._ Like Aang didn't know that. Still, Zuko felt the need to remind him everyday. Not that he minded, really. It was always good for him to keep in mind that Ozai would never accept any screw ups on his part. Not ever.

_I suppose it's expected from a worthless bastard like yourself._

Twitching at the memory, Aang grabbed a pillow and folded it over his head. He hated that his father's words affected him so much. It had been a stupid statement anyway. He wasn't a bastard. Ozai had even done a DNA test to prove it. Honestly, it was probably the only reason Ozai didn't get rid of him a long time ago.

_Worthless_.

Swallowing down the lump in his throat, Aang lifted the pillow and looked back out the window. He shouldn't be thinking about this right now. He had gone down this road a thousand times, and he knew there was no point in going down it again. He would always come to the same conclusion.

Needing a distraction from his thoughts, Aang got up and went to his brother's room. Grabbing Zuko's laptop, he set up an alarm for thirty minutes and began to mindless surf the internet. He needed to escape his life for a little bit.

* * *

Zuko sat with his back straight, staring out the window silently. His father expected him to be a respectable young man, and he was willing to do everything he could to meet his father's expectations. Not because he wanted to make his father proud or any nonsense like that, but because if you wanted to survive in this family, you had to live your life by a single code: peace is better than freedom.

"What time does your last class end?" Ozai asked.

Zuko turned towards his father, keep his gaze respectfully low. "At 3:10, sir," he replied.

"And what time did you get home today?"

Knowing where his father was going with this, Zuko tried to breathe through slowly increasing pain in his head. "About 4 o'clock."

"That's right," Ozai said. "Now, I know how fast you and that little brat can walk. And I _know_ that it doesn't take you fifty minutes to walk the distance between our home and that school." He paused for a moment, letting his words sink in. "I expect you to be home at 3:30 _everyday_. A minute later and there _will_ be consequences. Do I make myself clear?"

Zuko gave a single nod. "Yes, Father."

They drove out of town to a remote location in the middle of nowhere. They couldn't do any of the dealings in the town, since it was just small enough that it would be noticeable to a passerby.

When they pulled up to an abandoned factory, Zuko's stomach dropped. He had been here before, and he knew what this meant. They weren't here to make a deal; they were here to send a message.

When they walked in, Zuko was met with a familiar sight. A man, probably a non-bender, was strapped naked to a metal chair. Three of Ozai's men were standing around him, one of them playfully firebending in front of the man while the other's laughed. As they got closer, Zuko could see the cuts and burns that decorated the man's body, a thin sheen of sweat coating his unmarried skin.

"Ando Yan," Ozai announced in a faux pleased voice. "I'm glad you could join us on this fine evening."

The man shivered, his eyes widening as he realized who was speaking. "Ph-phoenix Lord Ozai…!" he said breathlessly. "P-please…" he whimpered.

"Please what?" Ozai said mockingly. "Please don't hurt you? Please don't _kill_ you?" He waited for Ando to respond, but was met with only fearful trembling. "Now _why_ do you think I would want to hurt you? You don't think I'm _angry_ for all that money you've been skimming off the top, do you?"

"I'm sorry…!" Ando said quickly. "I w-won't do it ever again, I pr-romise…!"

Ozai nodded. "I know you won't." He stepped forward and leaned down so they were eye to eye. "I know my father had gotten more _lenient_ in his old age when it came to the managing the Agni Kai Triad. But now it's under new management. And _because_ I'm so understanding… I'll have mercy today."

Ando smiled and let out a nervous giggle. "Thank you, Phoenix! I-I won't let you down again!"

Zuko flinched as Ozai thrust his arm forward and firebent straight into Ando's chest. Ando let out an unholy scream and the room filled with the smell of burnt flesh. "I know you won't," Ozai said calmly. He turned around and addressed his lackeys. "Clean up this mess. And make sure he doesn't die."

Turning around, Ozai gave his son a stern look. "Come, Zuko."

Zuko followed silently, breathing slowly and shallowly through his mouth, trying to prevent himself from gagging. When they got outside, he took a deep breath of fresh air, trying not to make his intense relief obvious.

When they got back into their car and pulled out of the factory parking lot, Ozai asked, "Do you know why I brought you?"

_The same reason you **always** bring me to the factory._ "To accustom me to the dirty part of the job," Zuko said tonelessly.

"Yes, but don't think if it as _dirty_. It is an absolutely necessary aspect of the business. Fear is a powerful tool. Creating fear in those who work for you, and demonstrating to them that you are willing to go to extreme lengths, will ensure smoother and more efficient business ventures. Strike fear in one man, word of your ferocity will spread, and less will be inclined to rise up against you. Do you understand, my son?"

Zuko nodded. "Yes, Father."

"Good. You'll be eighteen in less than a year. When that time comes, you'll be removing yourself from school and taking a much more active role in the Agni Kais."

Zuko looked up at his father, frowning slightly. "You don't want me to at least get my high school diploma?"

"Not from a quack place like Kyoshi High. It is much more important that you get experience in the field. You're only there now to avoid trouble with the law."

Of course. After all, that was the only reason they moved all the way out here in the first place: to avoid the law.

The rest of the ride home was spent in silence. Zuko tried to focus on the passing scenery in an attempt to purge the memory of Ando's burning body and of his screams. Store it away with all the other memories of his father or some other Agni Kai member torturing innocent people who were really just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

When they got back and were walking back to the house, Zuko prayed that the dinner Aang made was to Ozai's satisfaction. Ozai seemed to be in a relatively good mood, so hopefully he wouldn't be too critical. However, Ozai seemed to always find something wrong with anything Aang ever did. It was wholly unfair, but there was nothing either of them could do to make Aang seem more _human_ to their father's eyes.

They walked in to the sounds of clanging pots and running water. Zuko's heart sank as they rounded the corner and were met with an empty dining room table.

With a small sigh of disgust, Ozai walked straight to the kitchen with Zuko following closely behind. "Is there a _reason_ for this delay?" he asked coldly.

Aang nearly dropped the out he was holding, but managed to control his trembling limbs enough to place it down in the sink. "I-I'm sorry, sir. I didn't expect you to be home so s-soon. I'm a-almost done..."

Ozai grabbed his arm and pulled it back, eliciting a sharp yelp of pain. "I will not be having any of your excuses today, you bastard..."

"Dad!" Zuko stepped forward, hands up in a placating manner. "We _are_ home a little earlier than we expected. I'm sure Aang would have been done if we were just a couple minutes later…"

Streams of steam starting to rise up from underneath Ozai's palm, causing Aang to whimper and squirm. "I don't want to hear _anything_ from you," Ozai growled. "If it were up to you, you would have coddled Aang to the point where he would be more useless than he already is!" He turned back to Aang and shoved his arm down, forcing Aang onto his knees. "I'm going to change out of these clothes. If dinner's not on the table by the time I get back down, you will _regret it_." He let go and marched out of the kitchen.

Zuko ran up to Aang, who was curled over his burnt arm. He placed a hand on Aang's head and rubbed a hand up and down his trembling back. "C'mon… You need to run some cold water over your arm. I'll finish setting things up, okay?"

Aang nodded and slowly forced himself to sit up. "It's not that bad…" he managed out weakly.

Nodding pointlessly, Zuko gently pulled him up, led him to the sink, and turned on the cold water. When he was sure Aang would be okay on his own, he grabbed the pot from the sink and quickly dumped it's contents into the colander. Over on the stove, he saw a pan filled with sauce and ready to go. As he grabbed plates from the cabinet, he said to Aang, "You know where the burn cream is in my room, right?" He saw his brother nodding out of the corner of his eye. "Go run up and put some on. He probably won't let you ice it during dinner, so that'll have to do until afterwards."

With another nod, Aang turned off the water and made his way upstairs, cradling his arm to his chest.

By the time Ozai came back down, Zuko and Aang were sitting silently at the table waiting for him. Barely sparing either of them a glance, Ozai sat down and said, "Go to your room, Aang. If you can't manage to make dinner, then you don't deserve to have any."

After a beat of silence, Aang slowly stood from the table and left the dining room without a word.

"It was a mistake, Father…" Zuko said quietly as Ozai began to eat.

"And that boy makes far too many of them. He should starting suffering the appropriate consequences. Maybe _then_ he'll start acting like a true Kayobi."

Knowing it was useless to argue, Zuko started to pick at his food. When the nearly constant pressure in his head started to pulsate, he pulled his pain medication out.

Ozai gave him a look of slight concern. "How's your head?"

Zuko shrugged as he swallowed down a couple pills. "It's fine."

"Zuko, don't lie to me. It's a serious condition that needs to be taken care of."

"It's not a 'condition'. The doctor's said that I'll be back to normal in a few months. As long as I'm _careful_…" he added quietly.

"Then you best remain careful. As the next leader of the Agni Kais, we have to make sure to keep your mind sharp."

With a small nod, Zuko continued to eat his dinner in silence. After he was done, he intended to look after Aang's burn and then go to bed. It had been an exhausting day.

* * *

**So what do you all think? Should I keep going or are you not interested? (Review and let me know :) )**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, everybody!**

**So, there seems to be a good amount of interest in the story. As such, I will definitely be continuing!**

**As mentioned previously, I am fairly busy with school work and such, so updates might be slow. I will again assure you that I will not abandon the story unless a major tragedy or sudden death were to befall me. :P**

**Enjoy chapter 2!**

* * *

It was seven in the morning, and Aang was sitting upright in his bed, examining the hand-shaped burn on his arm. While it was a little stiff, it didn't actually hurt that much. It would seem that sleeping with an ice pack wrapped around his arm had helped tremendously.

He ghosted his fingers over the swollen flesh, hissing at the slight sting it elicited. This was the first time his father had ever left such a serious wound on a more visible part of his body. If Ozai was angry or felt that Aang or Zuko needed to be taught a lesson, he would deliberately only leave marks on their torsos, backs, or upper legs. Or he would punish them without leaving any _physical_ marks.

For whatever reason, Ozai seemed to think it was okay to be less careful now, which filled Aang with an awful dread. Zuko would probably be fine. After being told by several doctors what the stakes were, Ozai seemed to be much more careful about how he treated his eldest son. Aang knew that Zuko felt guilty about it, since now it was mostly only Aang who suffered the physical brunt of their father's short temper. However, the selfish part of Aang was really happy that he wasn't being groomed like Zuko was. Aang never wanted anything to do with the Agni Kais. This was one point where he and his father agreed.

A small knock on his door pulled Aang out of this thoughts.

"Aang? It's me."

When Aang opened the door, Zuko walked in holding burn cream and bandages. Aang let out a long sigh as he stared at his brother's arms "Do I _have_ to?"

"If you want to prevent scarring? Yes." Zuko sat on Aang's bed and motioned his brother to do the same.

With another sigh, Aang sat across from Zuko and held his arm out. "I hate bandages..."

Zuko gave him a half hearted smile. "I know. But if it scars, you'll have to wear long-sleeved shirts every time you leave the house."

Aang watched as Zuko carefully rubbed the burn cream on and began tightly wrapping his forearm. "We all have training today at school," Aang said.

Zuko nodded, not looking up from his task. "I know."

"Our uniforms are short-sleeved."

"I know." He clipped the end of the bandage down and sat up straight. "Just say you burned yourself on the stove or something. It doesn't seem to be that bad of a burn, so hopefully it'll be completely healed in a week or two."

Aang moved his arm around, flexing and testing out the integrity of the bandage. Not that he doubted Zuko's ability to wrap a good bandage; Zuko and Aang both had a depressing amount out practice treating burns and other injuries.

Zuko climbed off Aang's bed. "Get dressed. I'm sure Father is going to want to speak to us before we go school."

When his brother had left the room, closing the door behind him, Aang fell backwards with a small thump and stared at the ceiling. He allowed his body to relax and his mind to go blank for just a moment, preparing himself for another full day of mental strain.

When he was done getting dressed and packing his bag, he met Zuko on the top of the stairs before they went down together. Their father was in his normal spot, looking over various documents. When Ozai saw them, he said, "I'll be going to Republic City for some business. I won't be back until tomorrow. In the meantime, I expect you both to be on your best behaviour. Understood?"

"Yes, Father," they both replied.

"Good." He placed the report he was looking at aside and gave them a small smile. "Have a good day at school."

Zuko and Aang quickly left the house, and as soon as they had exited their neighborhood, Aang let out a tired sigh. "Why does he do that?"

Zuko frowned slightly. "Do what?"

"Talk to us as though he cares. _Have a good day at school_," Aang mimicked.

Zuko grabbed Aang's arm hard, stopping him in his tracks. "Don't talk like that!"

Aang rolled his eyes. "It's not like dad can hear us..."

"It doesn't matter!" Zuko insisted. "Actually _saying_ these things only makes it more likely that you'll accidentally let something slip when he _can_ hear you."

Aang looked toward the ground, his fingers tapping nervously against his leg. "I just wish he'd stop _pretending_… I don't why, but it makes it all so much worse."

Zuko stared intently at his little brother, loosening the grip on his arm. "I know. Just… try not to think about it. Knowing him, he does it just to mess with your head."

Aang glanced upward. "You mean _our_ heads."

Zuko sighed with a small shake of the head. "I honestly have no idea what Dad expects of me. Half the time I think he sees me as his golden child. The other half, I think he hates my very existence. Or at least hates that I'm not more like _him_…"

Aang withered a little at his brother's words. He knew things were hard for Zuko precisely _because_ he was constantly on shaky ground. Such uncertainty made it very difficult for Zuko to act in accordance to Ozai's expectations.

He shook his head. He really _did_ need to stop thinking these things through constantly. Pondering and analyzing their circumstances wasn't going to change them. They just need to accept that Ozai's word was law and that they needed to follow him to the letter if they wanted to survive. Aang gently wrapped his hand around Zuko's wrist, breaking his brother out of his reverie. "We need to get going."

Zuko nodded, wrapping an arm around Aang's shoulders and bringing him in for a small side-hug. "Yeah."

* * *

Katara stepped through her kata, not really paying attention to how refined her movements were. Her concentration was focused on watching Zuko out of the corner of her eye as he worked through his own katas. It was honestly impressive. While she wasn't overly familiar with the firebending forms, she could tell that he was truly skilled. His movements were fluid and natural, without a hint of hesitation or faltering. He made his punches and kicks seem so _easy_.

"Enjoying the view of our newest firebending student, Ms. Mizuth?"

Katara quickly turned to Master Pakku, her shoulders twisting back and throwing her off balance. She had to step out to catch herself, which broke her out of her kata. Her face burning abnormally hot, she stuttered, "I-I'm so sorry, Master Pakku!"

"Don't apologize," he replied flatly with a small smile. "You're the only one who suffers from lack of proper practice."

Clearing her throat nervously, she quickly took back her initial stance and began working through her kata once more. This time, she deliberately ignored Zuko, knowing she would get a chance to talk to him during the break.

Master Pakku walked among his waterbending students, correcting their forms and stances as he went along. When he walked passed Katara, he muttered quietly, "I would stay away from that boy if I were you."

Katara frowned. _What?_ She turned to ask Pakku what he meant but he had already moved on. She automatically looked to where the firebenders were practicing. _He wasn't referring to Zuko… was he?_

Standing in front of the group, Pakku said, "You've all worked very hard, and I do believe it is time for your break. Be back in half an hour."

Breaking out of her stance, Katara watched as Pakku left the training grounds, not even sparing her the slightest glance._ Maybe I just imagined him saying that._ That was probably it. After all, why on earth would Master Pakku say something so ridiculous?

She turned around and found Zuko grabbing a bottle of water from the water station. She quickly walked up to him with a big smile. "Hey Zuko!"

He turned toward her and lifted his bottle in acknowledgement. "Katara."

She grabbed a bottle as well and quickly chugged half of it down. "_Man_, I'm out of practice…"

Zuko shrugged, his eyes glued on some distant point. "I wouldn't know. I'm not familiar with the waterbending forms."

Katara eyed him carefully. "Well, I know nothing of firebending forms, but _you_ certainly seem to know what you're doing. You move smoother than the rest of those firebenders combined. You must have had a great master when you were living in Republic City."

He didn't respond for a moment, taking another swig from his bottle. "My father taught me everything I know." Another pause. "I suppose you could consider him a master."

Katara's eyebrows went up at that. He hadn't mentioned that his father was a proficient firebender. Intriguing. "That's incredible! Is your father a Pro-Bender?"

Zuko's nose curled at that. "My father thinks Pro-Bending is a bunch of popularized drivel."

"Oh." That's when Katara realized that Zuko had been staring at the same spot during their entire conversation. She followed his line of sight and found that he was staring at a small group of students standing and chatting on the other side of the field. "Why are you staring at those guys?"

Zuko broke his gaze and looked at Katara with a slight expression of confusion. "What?"

Katara nodded in the direction of the group he had been staring at. "You seem awful interested in them."

Zuko looked back with an expression Katara couldn't quite interpret. "They're airbenders," he said.

She looked back and realized that they were, in fact, the airbending kids of their school. "Oh, I guess they are. Really nice kids, though a bit clicky."

"I just…" He paused, as though uncertain in what he was about to say. "... I've never seen airbenders before."

"Oh, that's right! The Agni Kais wiped out all the airbenders from Republic City twenty years ago!"

Zuko gave a slow nod. "And not a single one has dared entered the city since," he muttered quietly.

"Yeah… my Gran Gran says there used to be a lot more airbenders that lived here, but most of them got scared after the massacre in the city and moved out to more secluded parts of the country. I suppose they had the right idea, since a lot of towns _were_ hit by the Agni Kais soon after… I guess we were just lucky."

With a deep sigh, Zuko drowned the rest of his water. "Who teaches them?"

"Master Gyatso. He's one of the wisest teachers here, if also one of the silliest." She gave Zuko a questioning look. "Why do you ask?"

Zuko shrugged. "No reason."

"Hey, Katara! Who's the new guy?"

The waterbender turned to see her young earthbending friend march their way. "Hey, Toph. This is Zuko. He's a firebender. He and his brother just moved here this summer."

Zuko offered his hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

Katara smothered a smile that tried to creep on her face. While it wasn't immediately obvious through her thick black bangs, Toph was completely blind. Zuko's offered gesture was going to be completely lost on her.

"The pleasure is allll mine," Toph replied.

Zuko frowned when Toph didn't make any move to take his hand. After a moment of silence, Zuko bent forward slightly to get a better look at the earthbender. "Are you… blind?"

Tohp let out a bark of laughter, clearly startling Zuko. "You noticed that, huh? Don't worry. I'm not _completely_ blind. I see everything I need to with my feet!"

She lifted a mud-encrusted foot, to which Katara retched. "Oh, Toph! That's disgusting!"

"What?" Toph said, putting her foot back down. "I clean them after training!"

Zuko's eyes widened slightly in realization. "You use earthbending to see?"

Toph gave a sharp nod. "That's right. And let me tell you right now: you will lose every sparring match we have."

The firebender gave her an incredulous luck. "Excuse me?"

Katara shook her head. "She's not kidding, Zuko. The only ones who have ever been able to beat her are the airbenders, and that's just because they can manage to stay off the ground."

Zuko's eyes narrowed, and Katara knew that the firebender was going to take this as a personal challenge. "Well," he said, "I guess Toph's just never met her match before."

Toph smiled mischievously. "I like you, Sparky. And I can't _wait_ to wipe the floor with you."

* * *

When it was time for their break, Sokka was immensely pleased to see Aang standing near one of the water stations. "Hey, Aang!" The young boy turned and smiled as Sokka ran up to him. "I guess this means you're not a firebender like your brother?"

Aang shook his head, his brown hair flopping side to side. "No…" He gave a cursory look around the grounds. "And I guess Katara _is_ a bender?"

"Yeah, a waterbender. But who cares about them!" Sokka flung an arm around Aang's shoulders. "It's time we non-benders got some time to bond and learn how to be _real_ warriors!"

Aang shrugged Sokka's arm off with a half-smile. "How are benders _not_ warriors?"

"Oh, they may have their magic, hand-wavy element bending, but it takes _true_ skill to be able to take on an opponent no matter what the circumstances. If benders don't have their element, they're essentially helpless. Well… except airbenders, I suppose. I don't think it's even possible to cut them off from their element…"

Aang's eyebrows shot up at that. "Do you have airbenders? Here, in town?"

"Huh?" Sokka looked down at Aang, a bit confused about his unusual level of excitement. "Yeah, I guess we have a few…"

Aang's face lit up briefly before resuming a carefully neutral expression, his hands wringing together. "That's cool, I guess…" he muttered quietly.

Sokka was still confused until he remembered that Aang had lived in Republic City, where no airbender had dared stepped foot since the massacre about twenty years previously. That meant that Aang had never seen an airbender in his entire life. "Yeah, they're okay," Sokka said. "They're nice and all that, but they don't really hang out much with any non-airbenders."

Aang picked on the bandage on his arm, seemingly deep in thought. "That's too bad…"

Which is when Sokka actually noticed the bandage wrapped tightly around Aang's lower left arm. "Hey, what happened?"

Broken out of his reverie, Aang looked down at the bandage as if he just realized it was there. "Oh, I - uh - burned my arm while making dinner last night."

"Ouch. Badly?"

Aang shrugged dismissively. "It's nothing I'm not used to."

Sokka frowned. "Do you burn yourself a lot while cooking?"

Aang's body stiffened. "Y-yeah… I'm kinda a clutz… Thankfully, I seem to heal fast and I don't scar easily."

"That's kinda cool actually. Do you cook a lot? You any good?"

The young boy hesitated before answering. "My father is… out... a lot. Doing business and stuff. I'm probably just as good as your average thirteen year old…"

Sokka scoffed. "You don't give yourself enough credit. I couldn't even boil water when I was your age. I still can't really cook anything… 'Course, why would I? My Gran Gran makes the best food in the world." He nudged Aang's side, having figured out that the younger boy didn't really like it when Sokka put an arm around his shoulders. "Say, you really should come over sometime. And I suppose your wet-blanket of a brother can come too. He and Katara were practically _meant_ for each other in that regard..."

Aang frowned slightly. "I don't know about that…"

"Students!" Master Piandao stood in the middle of the field, beckoning for all of them to come forward. "Gather around. We're going to run through some exercises and tests to determine what level class you'll be training with for the year."

As everyone started to walk back onto the training grounds, Sokka turned back to Aang and quickly said, "We can talk about it more at lunch, but you really _should_ hang with us sometime. You can meet Toph, and we can all talk about Pro-Bending!"

Aang smiled as he walked back toward Master Piandao. "I'd like that."

* * *

Bending/Combat training took place every Tuesday and Thursday. On these days, all the students were given lunch afterward and then released early from school. The excitement over the early release was palpable in the cafeteria, which made Zuko roll his eyes. It's not like any of them had had a particularly _difficult_ first couple of days.

Knowing it was safe to take another round of painkillers, Zuko quickly dry-swallowed them before getting in line for food. While he was primarily taking the pills for his head, he was also taking them for the deep bruises he now wore. He had to admit that Toph had game. But now, Zuko had a goal: find a way to beat her fair and square by the end of the year.

After getting his food, he looked for Aang. Much to his exasperation, (though not to his surprise) he found his brother sitting with the Mizuth siblings. He braced himself for another thoroughly exhausting lunch.

When Aang caught sight of him, he smiled and waved. "Hey. How was training?"

Zuko shrugged as he sat down. "Fine. I'm miles above most of the routines they go through here." Then, he placed a hand gingerly on his side. "Apparently, so is Toph…"

Sokka let out an obnoxious laugh. "You took _Toph_ on? Let me guess: she kicked your ass."

Zuko gave him a sharp glare. "Excuse me for not being able to see what my opponent is going to do before it actually _happens_!"

Aang gave him a bewildered look. "You _lost_ to someone?"

His pride taking more hits today than he would normally like, Zuko let out a small growl of frustration and crossed his arms across his chest. "She just… fights differently than most other people," he mumbled.

"Toph is blind," Sokka explained. "She's an earthbender and uses her feet to feel vibrations through the ground. It makes her really good at predicting her opponents moves. The only people who have ever beaten her are the airbenders. In that way, she's great to spar with since you know it'll always be a challenge."

"Speaking of, where is she?" Zuko asked. "You guys seem like you're pretty close with her, so why doesn't she eat lunch with you?"

"While she's a fantastic fighter, she's terrible at reading," Sokka said. "She gets private tutoring during lunch to practice."

"Well, I suppose that's to be expected…" Aang said. "I mean, since she's blind and all."

"Yeah, but there's braille, and it doesn't help that she refuses to practice," Katara elaborated.

"Besides…" Sokka added, "... we hang out plenty after school when we're not all swamped with homework. Which, while we're on the topic, you guys want to come over to our place after lunch? Or do you have more 'family obligations' to attend to?"

With his father's warning from yesterday echoing in his head, Zuko began to shake his head.

"You know what?" Aang said, "We'd love to!"

The Mizuth siblings' faces both lit up. "Great!" Katara said. "I know Gran Gran would love to meet you!"

Zuko turned to Aang incredulously. "I don't think that's a good idea," he stressed pointedly.

Aang looked back at his brother with an equally pointed look. "Why not? Dad's busy. I don't think he'll notice if we're not home."

Zuko opened his mouth to retort, then shut it, realizing it might reveal a little too much about their family if he spoke. Turning back to Sokka and Katara, he said, "Do you mind if I have a word with my brother?"

He could see Aang roll his eyes in his peripheral vision, but Katara and Sokka both shook their heads. Ignoring their slightly confused expressions, Zuko quickly stood and indicated Aang to follow him out to the hallway.

Once they were completely alone, Zuko spun to face Aang fully. "Have you lost your mind?"

Aang huffed. "I don't see what the big deal is. Dad said he was going to be out of town."

"The _deal_ is that Dad _always_ finds out! Remember? Or did you forget that time he found out about Uncle Iroh?"

Aang visibly shuddered, and Zuko felt bad for bringing up such a terrible memory, but also needed to make sure Aang remembered the danger they were constantly in. "Dad already gave me a warning about not getting home soon enough. We can't risk it."

"And what are we going to _do_ when we get home?" Aang implored. "Dad's in the city. We literally have _nothing_ to do, and we've just been offered to hang out with _normal_ people!"

"Aang... I know you've been feeling a little bit more rebellious lately…"

"_Rebellious_?" his brother echoed incredulously. "How about _desperate_ for some semblance of normalcy?" His eyes brimmed with tears, his voice becoming thick with emotion."How about _frustrated_ for never being able to do _anything_ right? Or _tired_ of having to follow the words of a man we both know is a monster."

Zuko didn't respond. If he was completely honest with himself, he would have agreed wholeheartedly with his brother. They were both being pushed to their breaking point, and it was hard to keep peace when the need for freedom was driving them mad.

With a final sigh, Zuko nodded. Maybe giving themselves a little leniency would help them maintain their ability to appease their father. Besides, Aang was right. Ozai was out of town. How could he possibly find out? "Okay. Let's go then."

Aang smiled and nearly jumped up into the air with excitement. "Really?"

Zuko smiled in return, genuinely pleased to see his brother happy. "Really."

"What's going on here?"

When Zuko turned and saw Pakku walking purposefully towards them, Zuko instinctively put himself between Aang and the waterbending master.

Pakku's eyes narrowed on the young firebender. "What are you up to, Mr. Kayobi? Intimidating young students into giving you their lunch money? How _impressive_," he said mockingly.

"I'm not intimidating anyone," Zuko retorted. "He's my brother, and we were discussing private family matters."

Pakku's frown deepened as he got a better look at Aang. "Is this true young man?"

"Yes," Aang replied instantly. "My name is Aang Kayobi."

"Hmm… very well, then." The old man didn't seem convinced, but apparently decided to let it go. "However, in the future, stay in the cafeteria during lunch. You are not permitted to simply roam the halls as you please." He walked away without waiting for a response.

"Nosey old bag," Zuko muttered.

Aang looked up at his brother. "He doesn't seem to like you very much."

"Which doesn't really make sense since I've never _met_ the guy before." He placed a hand on Aang's shoulder. "Let's go finish our lunch and tell Katara and Sokka we can go."

Aang smiled widely, the strange encounter now seeming entirely inconsequential. "Yeah."

* * *

**So what do you all think? Review and let me know :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, everybody!**

**I'm so sorry about the delay! I've been absolutely swamped with homework and classes. This has been my first week that's been relatively relaxful, so I got some writing done!**

**Because of the nature of my schedule, the plot is a bit rushed in this chapter. I wanted to really get into the plot so that my sparse updates are more satisfying.**

**Enjoy chapter 3!**

* * *

Aang would be lying if he said he wasn't apprehensive about spending the afternoon at the Mizuth's. His brother was right: Ozai _always_ seemed to know when they were doing, or even planning, to go against his authority. And he and Zuko were both thoroughly punished each and every time.

But they weren't being homeschooled anymore, and Ozai had the entirety of the Agni Kais to lead now. He couldn't keep a constant eye on them anymore. It would be easier to get away with disobeying him.

And even if they _didn't_ get away with it, Aang was sure that it would still be worth it. He would probably be the only one punished, especially if he told their father that he made Zuko come with him. But more than that, it would be worth being able to be _normal_ with the Mizuths. There was something incredibly liberating about being with and interacting with other people. It made Aang feel almost normal himself. He could almost forget about his hellish home life.

They all met up with Toph in front of the school after lunch and started to walk towards Katara and Sokka's home. Zuko and Aang walked awkwardly in silence as the trio rapidly recounted their day to each other and exchanged a few inside jokes. Aang tried to get a word in edgewise, but was having trouble finding a good opportunity. He could tell that Zuko was supremely uncomfortable and semi-regretting his decision.

Fortunately, the awkwardness didn't last too long as Sokka turned around and asked, "Do you guys have a PS3? Or a Wii?"

Aang shook his head. "No. Our dad thinks video games are a superfluous distraction."

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Man, your dad is strict. That's the whole point of video games!"

"It's not exactly unusual for parents to ban video games," Zuko snapped.

Aang stiffened slightly, but Sokka just held his hands up defensively. "Yeah, I know, but those parents don't realize we kids need to let loose once and a while. Goodness knows, _you_ of all people need to relax a little."

Toph let out a bark of laughter. "No kidding! Sparky... you're tenser than my father whenever I leave his line of sight."

Zuko stared pointlessly at the earthbender as he mouthed _Sparky?_ incredulously.

"Is your father protective?" Aang asked.

Toph scoffed. "Understatement of the century. If he could have his way, I'd be home-schooled and under house arrest for the rest of my life. I nearly had to earthbend him into a walk to convince him I don't need to be babied. He can be such a pain sometimes..."

Aang's frown persisted. "Well its good that he cares so much about you."

"Yeah," she replied, unconvinced. "I suppose it'd be nice if he wasn't so smothering."

Aang tried fruitlessly to conceptualize having a father that cared _too_ much.

When they arrived at the Mizuth's home, they were greeted warmly by their grandmother. She introduced herself as Kana and told them to make themselves feel at home. A part of Aang wanted to reply that that was precisely what he was trying to avoid.

After Kana went off to start making dinner, they all went into the basement and sat on their ridiculously comfortable couches and easy chairs. As he and Zuko settled into one of their love seats, Aang decided he loved this house. It wasn't cold and empty like their home. It was filled with personal items, pictures and such, comfortable furniture, and just _colour_. It sort of reminded him of Uncle Iroh's home.

With an unconscious shudder, Aang pressed himself against Zuko's side, needing to feel his brother's heat.

"So whaddya guys want to do?" Sokka asked. "We've got video games, we got movies, we got snacks…"

"Why don't we just chat?" Katara suggested. "Get to know each other a bit better."

Aang felt his brother tense. 'Chatting' would be the _last_ thing Zuko would want to do. For a large variety of reasons.

Sokka rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure. We can be boring if you want."

Katara glared at her brother. "Getting to know our new friends isn't _boring_."

Toph, who was leaning back in a beanbag chair, let out a loud sigh. "How about Snoozles goes get some snacks and we all watch a movie? Especially since the new guys don't seem to be that much in the mood for talking."

Sokka gave a shrug. "Sounds good to me." He jumped out of his chair and ran up the stairs.

Katara gave a defeated sigh as she stood and opened up a cabinet filled with DVDs. "So what do you guys feel like watching?"

Zuko shrugged. "As long as it's not some sort of chick flick, I don't care."

Aang leaned over slightly to get a better look inside the cabinet. He couldn't believe how many movies there were! He honestly didn't care what they watched, as he had seen very few movies in his lifetime. The only movies he'd ever seen had been the occasional old actions flicks that play on their grainy, free cable.

Katara seemed to notice Aang's fascination with their large collection. "Aang, do you have any preferences?"

Aang quickly leaned back against Zuko's side, a little embarrassed at gawking so openingly. "No. I'm good with anything."

"You sure? You _are_ the guests after all. You should pick out something that you'd like."

Aang was about to insist that he didn't care, when he felt Zuko give him a slight nudge with his arm. He looked back at his older brother and could tell that Zuko thought Aang should actually pick something he wanted. A little self-conscious, Aang slowly stood and nervously walked over to the cabinet.

Katara stepped aside. "We've got tons of movies and we can watch them whenever we like. You should pick something you don't own."

_We don't own anything._ Aang's eyes scanned over the movie titles, his brain not processing any of the title names. "I don't know... They all look good to me." An annoyingly high amount of anxiety building up inside of him, he quickly shook his head and say back down next to Zuko. "I'm good with anything," he mumbled.

Katara gave Aang a slightly skeptical look. "Okay..." She turned back to the cabinet and pulled out a DVD from the bottom shelf.

"That better not be one of your girly love stories," Sokka said as he stumbled down the staircase, arms filled with soda cans and bags of chips.

"No," Katara said curtly. "It's_ The Story of Wan_."

"Awesome!" Sokka dumped the food unceremoniously on the table and fell back into his chair. "Have you guys seen this?"

Aang and Zuko shook their head.

"Aw, you'll love it. It's an old Eastern back from the old days of black and white. I'm not usually into those movies, but this one's awesome."

As they watched the movie, Aang found that he really did enjoy it. The effects were a little hokey and the dialogue a bit overdramatic, but it was still entertaining to watch. What was probably more entertaining was Sokka's constant commentary on it, usually followed by either a small shush from Katara or a loud grouse from Toph to shut up.

As Aang sat back into the couch, sipping on the soda Zuko had grabbed for him and watching the antics unfold, he had never felt so _normal_.

Which filled him with both elation… and terror.

* * *

"I don't think I've ever had food that good in my life," Aang stated.

"Really?" Zuko said. "You didn't seem to enjoy the stewed sea prunes that much."

Aang grimaced. "Except for those. Who on earth thinks those are _good_?"

It was around eight in the evening, which was the latest Zuko was willing to stay. Even if their father wasn't supposedly coming back until tomorrow, Zuko wasn't willing to go too far to risk that this wasn't another test Ozai was setting up.

But even though they left early, Aang still seemed happy. Happier and more lively than Zuko had seen him in a long time.

Aang suddenly got quiet, twisting his shoulders and fidgeting as he walked down the sidewalk. "Do you think we'll be able to go back sometime?"

Zuko closed his eyes and let out a small sigh. "I don't know, Aang…"

"I mean…!" Aang said quickly, "I know that we'd only be able to when we know that Dad's out of town, which isn't very often, but it still happens, right? Dad still goes to Republic City to do business…!"

"Yes, he does," Zuko admitted. "But do you _really_ want to constantly risk getting caught?"

Aang crossed his arms protectively across his chest, staring sightlessly down the street. "Better risk getting caught than living the lifeless story that is our lives…" he mumbled.

Zuko placed a hand on his shoulder. "Yeah, you say that now. Until Dad actually _does_ catch us." Aang shivered under his hand. "We'll still see them at school. And have lunch with them."

"Yeah, but it's not the same…"

"No. It's not. But it's better than nothing."

Aang looked up and met eyes with his brother, a mixture of resignation and sadness in his expression. Hating that he ruined his brother's good mood, Zuko pulled Aang close and wrapped him in a tight hug. More than anything, he wanted to reassure Aang, tell him that one day they'd find a way to be free of Ozai's grasp and live their own lives, but he knew that it would be an empty promise. So he just held his brother tightly and silently cursed their life and their circumstances.

* * *

They were a month into the school year, and life was pretty good for Katara. She was doing well in her classes, she seemed to be making decent progress in her bending, and her friendship with Zuko and Aang had slowly grown. It was probably hard to tell from an outsider's perspective, especially in regards to Zuko. However, Katara slowly began to notice little things that proved that Zuko was warming up to them.

The first was his relationship with Toph. They sparred every chance they got, and while Zuko was making _some_ progress, Toph still generally wiped the floor with him every time. In the last few weeks, Zuko seemed much more willing to playingfully jest with the earthbender, which was both was amusing and endearing. He almost treated her like a little sister.

While this was the most apparent sign of their growing friendship, there were others as well. Zuko had slowly become less stiff during lunches, participating more in their conversations. Sometimes he'd even give a small smile.

And Aang was a character in of himself. Shy, fidgety, filled with pent-up energy, and _brilliant_. He had his moments where he would break through that wall of shyness and talking animately about something he was passionate about (usually with Sokka).

Even so, the Kayobi brothers still had an air of darkness surrounding them. Like a wall that no one seemed to be able to penetrate. They were both very cagey about their home life, which in of itself is not strange. However, mixed with other little signs, Katara was becoming increasingly concerned.

The second day of school, Aang came with a bandage around his arm, which he had told Sokka was due to a cooking accident. He's a thirteen year old kid. Things happen. But every now and again, Aang comes in with a new bandage, or with a visible bruise. Each time, he had perfectly reasonable explanations, but with all of the put together… Not to mention Zuko seemed to constantly have headaches and regularly took pain medication. They also hadn't hung out with them after school since that first week, always citing family obligations.

Katara didn't want to make assumptions, or put her nose where it didn't belong. But she was pretty sure that they were being abused.

But even if that _were_ the case, she had no idea what to do. She had no solid evidence, and she didn't want to approach Zuko or Aang about it. They would probably shut down or get angry at her, especially if she was wrong. She was pretty sure she wasn't, but the last thing she wanted to do was to push them away.

At the moment, Katara decided to just continue being a supportive friend. They have only known each other a month. It was unreasonable of her to try and solve their life problems. Even rude.

But it was killing her to imagine her friends suffering while she sat around and did nothing.

She had shared her thoughts with her brother, knowing she could always trust Sokka to make rational observations and generally make reasonable judgments. However, she was disheartened to find that Sokka both agreed with her assessment and didn't really know what to do.

"We're probably the closest friends they have," Sokka had said. "If they're not willing to tell us, they're certainly not going to be willing to tell the police. And if they're not willing to rat their father out, there's nothing anyone can do to stop it."

It made Katara want to water whip someone.

It wasn't until a few days before their fall break when she came up with an idea. "We should invite Aang and Zuko to come to the cabin with us."

Sokka gave his sister a skeptical look. "If they're unwilling to visit us after school, I don't think they're going to go for a whole week out of town."

"That's why weren't not going to ask them. We're going to go to their house and ask their father."

Sokka's jaw dropped. "Are you crazy?!"

"What?"

"If we're right, and their father _is_ abusing them, what makes you think talking to him is a bright idea?"

"I think getting them out of the house for a week is a _brilliant_ idea. Especially if we _are_ right."

"If we're right, you really think you can talk an abusive bastard into letting his sons spend a week away from home?"

"Well... we'd have to word it right. He'll probably let his sons come if we make it seem as though it'd be really suspicious if he didn't."

Sokka pinched the bridge of his nose. "Katara, you've had a lot of hairbrained ideas in the past, but this…?"

"You said it yourself! We're probably the closest friends they have! And I refuse to spend an entire week having the time of my life while they're trapped home alone!"

"We're not even _positive_ they're being abused!"

"So what? I can't ask them to join us out of _friendship?_"

Sokka rolled his eyes. "Regardless, judging from how little their father let's them stay out, the chances that we'll convince him to let Zuko and Aang come is practically zero."

Katara pursed her lips stubbornly. "It's at least worth a shot. It can't hurt. It's not like their father is going to attack us while we stand on his stoop."

There was a moment of silence before Sokka let out a deep sigh. "Fine. When do you want to do this?"

Katara looked at the clock. It was mid-afternoon on a Saturday. "Why not now? We can look up where they live in the directory."

Sokka, still visibly unhappy about the idea, gave a curt nod. "Fine."

The Kayobis didn't live too far away. They were only about half a mile beyond their school. Determined and refusing to chicken out, Katara grabbed her coat and immediately left. Her brother caught up with her a few moments later.

"What if their father's not home?" Sokka asked.

"Then we're making a friendly visit to classmates. Nothing unusual about that."

Sokka grunted in response. Katara knew that he was only coming with her because he wanted to make sure she was safe. She appreciated the gesture. And appreciated that he knew better than to try and stop her.

When they arrived at the Kayobi residence, Katara took note of the car in the driveway and assumed that meant that their father was home. The Mizuth siblings walked up to the front door and stood there for a moment. Pushing down the anxiety that was welling up inside of her, Katara took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.

Nothing. Then, the muffled sound of approaching steps. Katara dug her nails into the palm of her hand as she braced herself.

The door opened, and there he stood: Zuko and Aang's father. "May I help you?" he said.

For a moment, Katara could do nothing but stare. Ever since she suspected Zuko and Aang's father about abusing them, she had imagined him as an ugly, ill-kept sort of man. The kind of man you would shy away from if you say them on the street. What she _wasn't_ expecting was a forty-year-old version of Zuko. A handsome, well-dressed, upper-class man.

But then, in her silence, his golden eyes narrowed and all she could see in them was a sharp cold. "Young lady…?" he said, his patience clearly wearing thin.

Shaking herself out of her trance, Katara forced herself to smile. "Hi! You're Mr. Kayobi? Zuko and Aang's father?"

His eyes narrowed further. "Yes."

"Father? Who is…?"

Zuko suddenly appeared behind his father. When he noticed Katara, his eyes widened and the blood visibly drained from his face.

Maintaining her cheerful persona, Katara waved at Zuko. "Hey!"

Zuko's father turned. "Do you know these two?"

Zuko's eyes darted between his father and the Mizuths. "Th-they're classmates."

Katara nodded. "That's right. You see, my family owns a cabin in the nearby mountains where we usually spend our fall break. And, well… we came to see if it was alright if Zuko and Aang joined us."

Their father's expression remained unchanged. He was looking very intently between Katara and Sokka, seemingly analyzing their every detail. Katara was having difficulty maintaining eye contact, but she was a little afraid of what would happen if she didn't.

Finally, he smiled. A sort of smile that left ice in your blood. "Of course they may join you."

Zuko gave his father an incredulous look. "Father?"

"You've been working very hard lately. You deserve a break."

Katara gave a quick bow. "Thank you very much, Mr. Kayobi!" She gave Zuko a quick wave. "We'll pick you guys up Monday morning!" Zuko didn't respond, seemingly in a state of shock.

His father closed the door and Katara's cheery demeanor was immediately dropped. Her heart pounding in her ears, she slowly turned around and walked away from the house.

Sokka gave his sister a concerned look. "Hey, you okay? It went the way you wanted."

Katara nodded her head. "Yeah…" She turned back and stared at the front door. "It went… _exactly_ the way I wanted."

Sokka placed a hand on her shoulder. "Aren't you happy? They're going to spend an entire week with us and Toph."

She quickly nodded. "I _am_ happy." She turned back forward and started to walk back home. "I'm just… a little shaken. I can't put my finger on it…"

Sokka wrapped an arm around her and gave her a quick squeeze. "Don't worry about it. There's clearly something off about their dad… But there's nothing we can do about that. Let's just focus on having a fantastic break with them, okay?"

Katara smiled weakly and nodded. "Okay."

* * *

**So what do you all think? Review and let me know :)**


End file.
